Treaty hands MEPs more power to shape the future of Europe

A quiet revolution in EU law-making is set to shift the balance of power in favour of MEPs, writes Gareth Harding

European Voice

4/28/99, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 8:19 PM CET

THE European Parliament’s powers will be given a major boost when the Amsterdam Treaty comes into force next week.

The new EU treaty gives MEPs more say over who heads the European Commission and more scope to shape Union legislation. It also streamlines the institution’s complex decision-making structure and gives the assembly more control over how it conducts its own business.

For the first time in its 40-year history, the EU’s only directly elected body will wield equal powers to the Council of Ministers in most legislative areas. This is likely to enhance the status of the Parliament in the public’s eyes, lead to a power shift away from the once all-powerful Council and turn the Strasbourg-based assembly into a chamber with real clout.

The key to this quiet revolution in the way the EU makes its laws is the extension of the co-decision procedure to most legislative areas.

Co-decision, introduced under the Maastricht Treaty, gives the Parliament the right to amend proposals agreed by Council and veto them if MEPs feel their views have not been taken into account.

Under the current treaty, only 15 policy areas are subject to this procedure but Amsterdam extends this list to 38.

“Instead of being the exception, co-decision will now become the norm”, said one official. “This will lead to many more parliamentary committees becoming involved in law-making and many more brought face to face with Council.”

If the Parliament and Council fail to reach an agreement on a draft proposal subject to co-decision, head-to-head talks are convened to thrash out a deal.

Although both sides arrive at the negotiating table on equal terms, MEPs initially felt that the cards would be stacked against them because of governments’ greater experience at playing political poker and the depth of back-up staff at their disposal.

But Parliament Vice-President David Martin believes that the assembly is “not just equal to the Council but superior to it in many ways. We are often able to out-manoeuvre and outfox it.”

The jury is still out on which side has clocked up more victories in the four years since co-decision was first introduced. But MEPs have certainly notched up some important successes in conciliation talks, most notably in the environmental field.

One EU official said that the new treaty would “transform relations between the Parliament and Council”. MEPs’ views on draft laws will loom ever larger in the minds of EU governments, which will be more concerned at striking a deal earlier in the legislative proceedings rather than risking a clash later on.

Likewise, Commission officials are increasingly likely to draft laws with the MEPs’ opinions in mind, knowing that the assembly has the ultimate power to send a proposal back to the drawing board.

The Parliament is also set to gain important new powers over the choice of Commission president under the new treaty. At present, governments have to consult MEPs over the appointment, but can ultimately ignore their views. Under Amsterdam, the assembly will be able to veto the person nominated by EU leaders and demand that member states come up with a new candidate.

MEPs will use this procedure to full effect next week when they vote on Commission President-designate Romano Prodi. While the Italian is virtually certain to be approved, governments have been sure to listen to MEPs’ advice on the timing of the changeover and careful to sound out the assembly’s political leaders on their nomination to stave off a revolt later on.

One treaty change which could have a major effect on the make-up of the Parliament in future years is the introduction of a cap on the number of MEPs that can sit in the chamber. If the Union takes in ten new central and eastern European members early next century, all EU countries will see the number of seats allocated to their MEPs cut drastically.

The Amsterdam Treaty may also bring two ambitions dear to the hearts of most parliamentarians closer to fruition.

If they can secure the unanimous support of EU governments, a common European statute setting out the rights and responsibilities of MEPs could be given the green light before June’s Euro-elections.

The likelihood of the Parliament agreeing a common system for electing MEPs across Europe has also increased because of the new treaty’s concession that such a system need only be “in accordance with principles common in all member states”, rather than laying down a uniform model for the whole Union.